The Brave News

by Diego Santizo, Sports Editor

Knott’s Berry Farm “Taste of Boysenberry” is currently the best food tasting event in Southern California, a perfect event you won’t want your taste buds to miss out on!

The Knott’s Berry Farm Taste of Boysenberry Festival began on March 5, however, the experience will continue until May 2, on select days. Hours will be noon to 9 p.m., except on Sundays when the park will close at 8 p.m. in Buena Park.

The Knott’s Boysenberry Festival annually celebrates the berry that made the theme park famous. With California’s COVID-19 theme park restrictions, the Boysenberry Festival was cancelled in 2020. This year, the first Taste of Boysenberry Festival will attempt to recreate some of the same experiences offered by Boysenberry Festival while practicing recommended safety guidelines.

While Knott’s Berry Farm theme park’s normal operations remain closed due to COVID-19, attendees of the Taste of Boysenberry Festival will be able to attend the limited-time food event, as a substitute for the annual Boysenberry Festival that the theme park normally hosts during the spring. 

New and familiar menu items will include boysenberry Dippin’ Dots, boysenberry brisket tater tots, boysenberry BBQ glazed wings, and popcorn with boysenberry butter. Alcoholic beverages like boysenberry wine and berry cider will also be on the menu. The full menu and tasting booth map are available for preview online.

Other menu items guests can choose from a lineup of tantalizing delicacies such as beer cheese soup with a boysenberry drizzle and brown butter croutons, beef tips served with creamy boysenberry mashed potatoes, and boysenberry BBQ carne asada pizza garnished with cilantro and onions, plus options for all dietary preferences. Thirst-quenching drinks include boysenberry lemonade with basil, boysenberry ICEE float with vanilla soft serve, boysenberry mint and pineapple aqua fresca and so much more.

Upon arrival through the Marketplace from the parking lot to the entry gates, a lengthy stream of guests crowd the walkways to satisfy taste buds. Patience and social distancing are also among key ingredients to the fun that awaits.

Ghost Town is the first location people in which most people enter the first lines since it is at the front of the park so a tip would be to make a right turn which would lead you to Camp Snoopy. Camp Snoopy has two locations in which you can redeem your food voucher which consists of five tastings which can be spent however you please.

Following Camp Snoopy, there is Fiesta Village and the Boardwalk. Both locations carnival games available for guests to enjoy. Whether it’s the 3pt basketball challenge at the Boardwalk or the loteria baseball challenge at Fiesta Village, carnival games are a fun way to pass the time and surely a good opportunity to get your money’s worth.

The entertainment during the “Taste of Boysenberry” event deserves a round of applause as the characters, performers, and musicians really helped bring a little jolt of energy and theme park magic to an already electric festival. Just walking around you might encounter the following: The Mayor of Calico, a disaster in the bakery – Lotta Leftovers, Fiesta Village DJ, a dude waxing his surfboards, a magician, and K-NOT radio playing some nice retro music.

The star of the show and the entertainers who got the most guests paying attention to them was the return of Krazy Kirk and the Hillbillies. After a full year of hiatus, Kirk and the gang are now playing several sets on select nights of the Taste of Boysenberry Festival. Seating is strictly monitored by Knott’s Staff at one party per table

There are also distanced photo opportunities with favorite characters such as Snoopy, Charlie Brown, and the Easter Bunny in case you want a picture to remember during such a weird time period. Since Easter is approaching soon, Knott’s created a colorful hidden egg hunt around the park. You use your smartphone to scan a QR code each time you spot a hidden egg in the park and it tracks your progress. 

To attend the “Taste of Boysenberry” event, guests will need to purchase an advance tasting card online. With the tasting card, attendees can enter the park to select three-to-five food or drink choices from over 80 boysenberry-infused drinks and food items as they walk through the inside of the theme park. The event will currently be ongoing for the next straight fourteen days and will have its final day of the year on May 2nd.

Tickets to the event start at $40 (plus tax) for adults and $20 (plus tax) for children ages three to eleven. Adult tickets include five tastings, while children’s tickets include three tastings. Guests will have the option of purchasing additional food and drink items while at the festival. Tickets may be purchased in advance online using the link https://www.knotts.com/events/taste-of-boysenberry-festival.